Jon Meacham
Longtime pundit Jon Meacham is apparently writing a book about George H.W. Bush. But sometimes it feels like his real role is to act as a Bush family publicist.
Last year in Time (7/1/13), Meacham cheered on the idea of a Jeb Bush presidential run (FAIR Blog, 6/26/13), writing of the family:
Bushes move to new parts of the country; they work hard; they learn from their mistakes, particularly from failed campaigns; and they never, ever give up.
Of course, the most famous Bush was noted for what might generously be called a laid-back work style, couldn’t think of any mistakes he had made when asked for an example of one (Reuters, 4/14/04) and essentially gave up on the hunt for Osama bin Laden when he invaded Iraq (FAIR Blog, 5/2/11). It’s true that he did move from Connecticut to Texas–when he was two.
Meacham also claimed the family should be seen as “a line of related products that most Americans recognize and have chosen on three (1988, 2000 and 2004) of the four occasions they’ve been on offer.” Actually, in 2000, more Americans chose Al Gore; it was the Supreme Court that chose George W. Bush (Extra!, 1/02).
George Bush the elder (cc photo: FreeLancer CDBrown)
In the new issue of Time (4/7/14), Meacham has a piece about George H.W. Bush, who readers are told is “savoring a favorable shift in the popular view of his own administration’s performance while, in classically Bushian fashion, looking forward.”
Meacham doesn’t indicate what poll numbers he’s looking at to judge this shift in the popular view; in a Gallup poll taken six months ago (11/15/13), Bush came in sixth out of 11 modern presidents; the only president with a higher percentage rating him “Average” was Gerald Ford.
But it’s not just the elder Bush whose political tenure is being re-assessed by the public. Meacham writes:
As the years pass from the tumult of the first decade of the century, George W. Bush seems less polarizing, and his new display of paintings of world leaders at his own library, in Dallas, offers the country–or at least a small part of it–the opportunity to consider him in a different, less glaring light.
Though it’s not the most unusual take on the Bushes I’ve seen recently–that would be courtesy of the Washington Post, which declared that the family was “going through a renaissance of Matthew McConaughey-like proportions.”
It’s true that the younger Bush is viewed more favorably than he was at the end of his second term. But that has a lot to do with how low he’d fallen; one poll taken as he left office in January 2009 had with just a 22 percent approval rating.
George Bush the younger (cc photo: JAXPORT)
Bush’s numbers have obviously risen since then–to 49 percent favorability–but as Gallup noted (USA Today, 6/12/13), “Opinions of Bush still show a high degree of party polarization, with a 60-point gap in his favorable ratings from Republicans versus Democrats.” And Bush’s recovery is slower than most other ex-presidents.
In the November 2013 Gallup poll comparing modern presidents, the younger Bush came in 9th out of 11; the only chief executive with a higher “Below Average” or “Poor” ranking was Richard Nixon.
But people like Meacham have always been trying to encourage everyone to look at Bush through what you might call a different light. In 2009 (FAIR Blog, 11/30/09), he wrote a piece advocating for a Dick Cheney presidential campaign in 2012. That would be “good for he Republicans and good for the country,” he asserted, in part because we’d find get to decide how we really felt about Bush:
A campaign would also give us an occasion that history denied us in 2008: an opportunity to adjudicate the George W. Bush years in a direct way. As John McCain pointed out in the fall of 2008, he is not Bush. Nor is Cheney, but the former vice president would make the case for the harder-line elements of the Bush world view.
Huh. Besides all of the the public opinion polls, it seems reasonable to assume that 2006 and 2008 elections went a long way towards settling the question of the American public’s view of George W. Bush.
Meacham also wrote a column (FAIR Blog, 6/4/10) looking back on some of the Bush-era wreckage–Iraq, Katrina, economic collapse–and advanced the theory that these failures were mostly about big institutions failing, having little to do with anything ideological: “The history of these years fails to fit neatly into the ideological categories of left or right, for both public and private enterprises have managed to miss the mark in hours of crisis.” As if the left were rooting for the “public” invasion of Iraq, or the devastation of Katrina reflected the “left” idea of neglecting to send emergency relief.
It’s not clear that the Bushes are actually enjoying a shift in the public perception of their administrations, but they can always bask in the glow of the unwavering flattery of journalists like Jon Meacham.
In January 1995 at the age of 25, Meacham was hired by Newsweek, and three years later he became managing editor, to the dismay of many of the magazine’s long-time editors. In May 2010, by then editor-in-chief of Newsweek, he became co-host of PBS’s ill-fated new show, Need to Know, where in less than a year he shifted to contributor. The program was put to rest last June, and it is reasonable to assume Meacham’s presence had something to do with its failure to attract viewers.
In any case, he’s a networker par excellence, and if the Bush dynasty reappears, so, one can assume, will Meacham.
We all know the drill: Lie about it, then lie about it some more, and when the time comes to clear the air, Lie some more; unless the truth will cause more confusion. Then lie about it afterwards. The later change the history to reflect what you like it to say, so that you can sound smart.
Given enough time, they will try to tell us that really Bush won the popular vote, and that the “liberals” tried to take it to the supreme court to have it tossed out, and they denied the motion.
“Those who control the present, controls the past. Those who control the past, controls the Future”. O’Brian 1984
Wow, I have weird memories of GW Bush:
seeing him standing on an aircraft carrier and saying the war is won;
something about Gog and McGog; reading “My Pet Goat;” heairng him say “Brownies doing a heck-of-a-job: ” Someone throwing a shoe at him, he ducked well though; and for some reason, I remember Cheney having a fire in his VP library, and wondering what he was burning up . I have weird memories of the several Bushes, although nothing substantial seems to stick in my mind. I supposed because maybe—there is nothing substantial?
Mrs Bush is right, the 1st one, the spooky- spy Bush and 2 presidents and a governor, that seems to be enough Bushes. I think thre’s another one lurking around somewhere in Texas too.
I also thihnk that we should just stop with all the presidential libraries; that just seems like a bunch of Ozymandias like structures going up, and so unnecessary too. I even read that the Nixon one doesn’t mention Watergate. Wow; maybe fairy tales can come true after all?
The most troublesome political family in our countries history. Folks need to know the real history, Prescott.. GHWB, W…lies, betrayal, criminal behavior…Read Family of Secrets
From the present and then back to 2001, I seem to have talked with or observed too many people for whom those years are simply the good old Happy Bush Days. Certainly most of those in the GOP. Have such people been, all that time, hiding under their beds? Was anyone listening to the daily garbage from the WH? Did they all truly believe that the people of Iraq flew their planes into the towers? Was there anyone noticing that a large corporation, formerly run by the VP, was over in Iraq and raking in huge piles of money, paid by us citizens? Or maybe it was just a tiny coincidence. GOP was giving the squeeze to as many state governments they could put their sweaty hands on. All that and much more.
OTOH, when our current President maybe parts his hair on the wrong side, any and all facts of the previous insane years are just forgotten by the other side. “What war?” Or “What Towers?” and “I aint never heard of any Bush. They live around here?”
I hope that this sort of democracy is not taught in the schools any more. (I wanted to be more specific and much longer, but I still don’t have a job yet.) :)
Sounds like a cozy arrangement for all but the American People who are still waiting for justice after the abuses of Iran Contra and the Iraq war’s authors who lied to the People. At this point I would withdraw my cry for the death by public hanging in favor of asset seizure and tar and feathering until the end of their days. Harsh I know but look at all the service men and women that died for these toads.
Im a tea party conservative who did not vote for Bush.I could do an hour talking about mistakes he made.Prescription drugs.Spending.Borrowing.Fast tracking NAFTA.Mistakes in Iraq.Hi(yes that what I said)taxes.This guy was no conservative.I cringe at the very thought of another Bush(or Clinton)in office.But Im amazed at the Bull you wrote hear in this article.You should put it all under the heading of Things the left WANTS to believe about Bush.I love when you said the supreme court put him in office.Actually he won,and GORE brought it to the supreme court who confirmed the win.There have been tons of recounts.The info is all on file.I am not aware of any recount that says Gore won. As far as Bushes poll numbers.Of course they are going up.Reason is simple.For eight years the press in a coordinated effort (ask James Carvil)attacked Bush.Now after years out the press is simply not there for constant reinforcement of the image they created..Strangely Obamas numbers continue to tank even with almost total lap dog press support.Truth is….. Bush was not a good president.Obama far worse.I know the left want to hang the great job they did tarring and feathering Bush for eight years on any candidate on the left.But after enough time it becomes a weak game.Like bring up Nixon.To most young folks its a big -Nixon who!As far as some guy writing a glowing kiss ass book on him…big surprise.For every one on him…. there are 50 on Obama from his worshipers.Who gives a crap.Bush is fishing and painting on his porch as we speak.Obama will soon be playing golf with the other ex presidents.Yucking it up over dinner with Laura and George in Texas.That is the real lay of the land.
Meacham is the worst kind of Little Lord Faunteroy. It’s
written all over his demeanor. He profiles FDR so he can claim to be a WWII biographer, but everyone he supports in modern times is the opposite of what FDR was. Meacham, like George WIll, is an economic royalist.